Author: Nicola

I can’t wait until next year’s High Country Women’s Cycling Festival to be held in Bright Victoria in March 2019. Unfortunately I missed the inaugural last month, because the date clashed with the Blayney to Bathurst weekend. So I asked the brainchilds of the event Clare and Michelle to tell me a bit about it so I could share with you all. For those who don’t know about Bright in Victoria’s beautiful high country, it’s a cycling mecca. There’s lots of road riding options for climbers and plenty of bike paths on flatter ground. There’s also lots of mountain bike

I read a great blog post the other day encouraging readers to say yes to spotlight moments, written by fellow PR professional Catriona Pollard. Catriona and I have known each other for quite a few years. She was actually the catalyst for this blog – Women Who Cycle. Nearly seven years ago I was attending a business lunch where Catriona was the guest speaker. She was talking about blogging, and it sparked an idea in my head that a week later led to the birth of womenwhocycle.com. That’s a bit of an aside, but Cartriona writes a lot about establishing

The Australian Football League (AFL) has done a great job of launching and promoting its AFL Women’s competition, so I was intrigued to read about a former rider who made the move from professional cyclist to AFL player. I actually met Emma Mackie a few years ago when she worked for Specialized and I was on a training course. We rode side-by-side and I asked her about her professional riding career. Since that time, it has all changed for her so this time I asked her about her new sporting career as an AFL player. Q: You reached the highest level

I’m a huge fan of research on brain health and was pleased to read recently that cycling can improve brain health through neuroplasticity. This is where brain cells can more easily respond to disease or injury. Of course it’s not just cycling that benefits your brain, but all aerobic exercise. I read about this in a recent article by Yen Ying Lim who is a Research Fellow at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. I was so impressed by what I read that I actually signed up to be part of the study. Click through to the original

On the eve of Anzac Day (a holiday in Australia to commemorate the battle at Gallipoli during the First World War) I thought it would be fitting to talk about the role of the humble bicycle in the First World War. It’s not so much a women’s cycling story because it was men who rode the bicycles but as I have a love for history I decided to share it with you. Today, bike technology has changed dramatically from the bikes that were being used in the First World War. The steel frame bikes were very basic with no shock absorbers

This seems to be one of those recurring questions that I get asked – Will cycling make my thighs bigger? You’ll be pleased to know that the answer is an emphatic no. In my own case I’ve slimmed down in my thigh and bottom area since I took up cycling, even though I actually weigh more than I previously did. Here’s a few reasons why your legs are not going to expand: Muscle is leaner than fat Muscle weighs a lot more than fat. Cycling will change the shape of your legs, but unless you’re doing a lot of squats,

This list of rookie mistakes female road cyclists make, is simply a list of six things I did when I first started riding a road bike almost ten years ago. I share it with you in the hope that other newbie riders might skip them. And I’m sure there are many more, but these are the six that spring to my mind: Grinding the gears This seems to be a common mistake that most road riders make, and I was certainly guilty of it. It seems that when we start out, we expect it to be hard to turn over

Like many road cyclists, I ride early in the morning to avoid traffic, and to leave the rest of my day free to work or play, so I use lights for a road bike to see and be seen. This means that for several months during the year I leave home in the dark. One thing that constantly amazes me is that I see other cyclists riding around with inadequate or even no lights on their bikes. They are also often decked out in dark clothing on dark bikes. I’m not sure if they are trying to be really ‘cool’

The Commonwealth Games on Queensland’s Gold Coast start next Wednesday so I thought I’d introduce the women of the Australian Commonwealth Games Cycling team. Here’s a rundown of the female Aussie cyclists who will be riding on the track, road and trails. The track program runs from Thursday, 5 April to Sunday, 8 April, with the women’s road race on Saturday, 14 April. The women’s time trial is on Tuesday, 10 April and the mountain bike on Thursday, 12 April 2018. Defending scratch race Gold medallist and dual world champion Annette Edmondson, dual 2014 Games medallist and world champion Amy Cure

Yesterday was International Day of Happiness, and of course I automatically thought about why riding my bike makes me happy. When I reflected, I came up with five reasons: Riding is fun The simple act of propelling a bike along, and experiencing the wind rushing by, is fun. It’s strange that a bicycle cannot stand up on its own, but it stays upright when you ride it. I find it fun to achieve that balance. It gives me a sense of freedom that I really don’t experience in any other way. Social connections For me, cycling has brought so many